builder..
model.. builder number.. built.. wheel arrangement.. horsepower.. prime mover.. operational weight.. starting tractive effort.. length.. width.. wheelbase..
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
70 ton 31726
June 1953 B-B 660 hp Cooper-Bessemer FWL-6T 137 600 lbs 34 400 lbs ft in ft in ft in
The Tidewater's last 70 tonner, and its last brand new locomotive, arrived in June
1953. TS 743 effectively dieselized the road, placing 2-6-2 132 on stand-by service. The ex-Sierra engine would be cut up two years later and appears to have only operated sparingly after 743 arrived. The 743 was the only TS
engine delivered in the silver and orange Zephyr paint scheme and wore a slightly different version than repainted (and renumbered) sisters 741 and 742. Most noticable was the large and distinctly non-standard Roman style cab
numbers. The little engine also wore its orange stripe lower on the body than did the other 70 tonners. She was also the only one delivered to the TS with sealed beam headlights, a featured she shared with her newer SN sisters.
As with the 741 and 742, the TS found that the 70 tonners were well suited to its railroad, but eventually increasing car sizes rendered them less useful. While there is no evidence that they were used in multiple, as the 44 tonners were
on the SN and TS, they did have the hook-ups and may have been paired on long trains. With the massive upgrading of the mainline in the 1960's, the GEs could finally be replaced by the larger Alco switchers and Western Pacific GPs.
Retired in 1968, the 743 found a new home in Iowa, working for the Iowa Terminal Company, another former interurban, as IT 76. She eventually ended up on the Dakota Southern, still wearing number 76, and was their primary engine in the
early 2000s. Today, she is out of service with several mechanical problems and bad wheels.
Tidewater Southern Railway
General Electric 70 ton 743
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